Houston Real Estate Blog

Houston Market Update

Just beginning your home search? Join our annual Spring Celebration of Homes, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Open houses are a great way to meet our REALTORS® and get professional and valuable information about the home, neighborhood and market.

An up-to-the-minute list of our April 6, 2014 Spring Open home tour can be found at www.johndaugherty.com

As someone who is not a native Houstonian and who is lucky enough to meet a lot of new movers coming into our city, I see many people who come with perspectives about Houston that are not necessarily accurate. Those moving from cooler climates to warm up are sometimes shocked at how warm July or August can be. The good news is that the winters are a lot warmer too. Another difference many find is the housing market in Houston did not experience near the downturn compared to anywhere in the U.S.

Because the downturn was much more moderate here and now prices have started to appreciate, those moving from areas which were hit harder must adjust their perspective on the buying process. When looking to purchase a home, if you are moving to Houston from almost anywhere in the U.S. you must adjust your perspective to the home buying process. Simply put, Houston has not experienced the downturn that other parts of the country have, and a new mover hoping to come in and negotiate as if they are in Florida or California may be surprised by the response they get.

Many communities in Houston have seen less than a 1% drop in value during the worst of the downturn and now are appreciating. So, a home in Detroit or Las Vegas that sold five years ago for $750,000 is listed today at maybe $500,000 or less. In Houston a home that listed five years ago for $750,000 is likely listing for $750,000 or more today.

Here are three different examples of Houston neighborhoods that are geographically apart and whose communities are each unique enough for comparison. I have chosen 2006 because it is prior to the economic downturn, 2007 because it is the beginning of the downturn and compared the price/sq. ft. to 2010 (most recent data from HAR.com):

If we look at the worst of the data, 2007 to 2010, we see that Tanglewood which is an affluent community had a value decrease of only 11%. With Afton Oaks you have a community that decreased in home value by 10% and in Montrose which is close in to the downtown area and is home to many professionals, the value actually increased by 15%. Obviously, Houston has not had the downturn many other areas of the U.S. have experienced.

With that understanding, a home buyer who is new to Houston has to be aware that if you came from a city where it is common practice to offer a huge discount to the asking price (10, 15, or 20%), you will likely not get a response from a seller with that type of offer. In Houston, an offer of $400,000 on a home listed at $550,000 or even $475,000 will most often be seen as a non starter and not taken seriously. Some owners might respond with a reduction of say one to five thousand dollars out of courtesy, but many will not even respond. Not that anyone is being rude, they just know it is not a reasonable offer in this market.

So in coming to Houston and buying a home make sure you have a realtor who provides you sales comparisons on homes in the area you are looking to buy. Armed with this you will be able to come up with a reasonable offer based on what homes are selling for in that neighborhood. Make sure that you set your expectations so that you are a buyer in Houston and not the expectations if you were in a city with a less robust market. If you have questions you may contact Azar Fisher at 713.301.4570 or at 713.561.6612.

One thing for sure is Houston is a great place to live and the economy here is doing well. Take your time, look at the market thoroughly, and…Welcome to Houston – a great place to live.

Houston, TX – John Daugherty, Realtors, is pleased to announce the opening of a marketing office in London, England in partnership with Mayfair International Realty. Located in the heart of London’s prestigious West End, the office will serve as a gateway for Europe’s real estate needs in Houston.

“We are the first residential brokers in Houston to do this,” said John A. Daugherty, Jr. “Over the past few years we have seen more buyers than ever from Europe and from the UK in particular. “We consider opening an office in London as an essential move to guarantee that our clients’ homes reach the widest possible market.

Mayfair International Realty, headed by Nick Churton and Annette Reeve, will market John Daugherty, Realtors’ Houston properties in the UK and the continental European media.

“We are working in a global real estate community with buyers not only crossing state boundaries, but International ones also,” said Daugherty.

John Daugherty, Realtors’ clients will find that the marketing of their homes receive a clear benefit from exposure to the widest market. And, London based buyers will also be able to visit the office and discuss buying a home in Texas. Churton said the move is paying off. “It is a positive move that has already brought significant success. The firm’s clients love the added coverage their homes receive and buyers love the easy access they have to the Houston market,” he said.

“More and more Europeans are being drawn to the Houston area for the very reasons the area has become so popular with those from within the US,” added Churton. He said as well as being a major business hub, the Internationally recognized Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world, and home for so many international corporate companies, the reliable climate, superb facilities and high standard of real estate make the Houston area a key target destination for home and investment buyers.

“I like to think that my company goes the extra mile for its clients. I am delighted to say that now we are going an extra 4,845 miles to London and opening the doorway to Europe and beyond,” added Daugherty.

Of particular importance is the internet site that offers properties exposure to the global market and uploads to other premier UK based websites. The highly prominent website www.mayfairinternationalrealty.com provides a worldwide portal for luxury properties. John Daugherty, Realtors enjoys the unique benefit of being the only Houston residential broker whose properties are uploaded to the property search site of the Telegraph newspaper at www.telegraph.co.uk, whose website attracts 32.5 million users and 276 million page views per month. Properties are also uploaded to the website of Country Life, www.countrylife.co.uk. Country Life is regarded as the leading UK magazine for luxury real estate. Over the past one hundred years Country Life has been the finest place to advertise the very best estates, country houses and important town houses in the UK and Europe and, over the past few years, throughout the globe.

About John Daugherty, Realtors

John A. Daugherty, Jr., a fourth-generation Houstonian, founded John Daugherty, Realtors on March 8, 1967 and has served as its president and CEO ever since. In 2009, the firm reached $9.75 billion in total property sales since the millennium (2000). John Daugherty, Realtors is the largest seller of upscale residential for the Houston real estate area, currently employing 170 real-estate agents and 84 support-staff members.